LANCASTER, Pa. - Richard Durso extended his winning streak to 12-straight matches to highlight Franklin & Marshall's performance in a pair of setbacks to Duke and No. 14 Purdue on Saturday at the NWCA Dual Festival at the Mayser Center. The Diplomats (7-9) opened with a 24-12 defeat to Duke (9-10), before falling 39-3 to the nationally ranked Boilermakers (17-6).
Durso, ranked 18th in the nation by IntermatWrestle.com, notched victories in both matches to continue his hot streak down the stretch of the 2012-13 campaign. With his two wins, the sophomore 141-pounder is now 34-3 on the year, placing him tied for second on the al-time single-season wins list.
Against Duke, Durso put F&M on the board with a hard-fought 3-0 victory by decision over Tanner Hough at 141. After a scoreless first period, Durso registered a reversal at 1:46 in the second and methodically kept Hough on the mat throughout the remainder of the bout, compiling 3:35 of riding time to secure the three-point triumph.
Paul Alessandrini delivered a 4-2 win by decision at 184 over Dylan Ryan, while Isaiah Cromwell earned F&M's other points with a victory by forfeit at 197. Alessandrini jumped on top of Ryan with a takedown at 1:26 of the second frame, before Ryan evened things up with a reversal at the 1:06 mark. With just 38 seconds left in the third, Alessandrini broke the tie with a takedown for the final points of the bout.
At 285, Chuckie Kerkesner battled Brian Self in a low-scoring showdown, with Self coming out on top 2-1 due to his 1:04 of riding time.
In the second match of the day opposite Purdue, Durso won his 12th straight match with a 3-2 decision over Brandon Nelson to record the lone points for the Diplomats. Durso pushed out to an early advantage with a takedown just under a minute into the first, before he and Nelson exchanged escapes to make the score 3-1 heading into the third. Nelson opened the third with an escape, but Durso successfully held him off as time winded down to earn the victory.
Andrew Murano put up a strong effort against the Boilermakers, but narrowly fell 4-3 at 149 to Nick Lawrence. The F&M junior captain grabbed the early lead with a first-period takedown at 1:27, but Lawrence took control in the second after a late takedown gave him the edge.
Saturday's matches marked the end of the regular season for F&M. The Diplomats return to action at the EIWA Championships hosted by Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J. on Friday, March 8.
Duke (DUKE) 24 Franklin & Marshall (F&M) 12
125: Peter Terrezza, DUKE, maj. dec. Aaron Moldoff, F&M, 14-0.
133: Brandon Gambucci, DUKE, maj. dec. Robert Ruiz, F&M, 20-6.
141: Richard Durso, F&M, dec. Tanner Hough, DUKE, 3-0.
149: Marcus Cain, DUKE, maj. dec. Andrew Murano, F&M, 12-1.
157: Immanuel Kerr-Brown, DUKE, dec. Eric Norgard, F&M, 9-3.
165: Randy Roden, DUKE, dec. Colin Lahiff, F&M, 7-1.
174: Trey Adamson, DUKE, dec. Colin Gironda, F&M, 3-0.
184: Paul III Alessandrini, F&M, dec. Dylan Ryan, DUKE, 4-2.
197: Isaiah Cromwell, F&M, forf. .
285: Brian Self, DUKE, dec. Charles Kerkesner, F&M, 2-1.
Purdue (PURD) 39 Franklin & Marshall (F&M) 3
125: Camden Eppert, PURD, maj. dec. Aaron Moldoff, F&M, 18-5.
133: Cashé Quiroga, PURD, tech. fall Robert Ruiz, F&M, 4:09 22-7.
141: Richard Durso, F&M, dec. Brandon Nelsen, PURD, 3-2.
149: Nick Lawrence, PURD, dec. Andrew Murano, F&M, 4-3.
157: Tommy Churchard, PURD, maj. dec. Eric Norgard, F&M, 11-0.
165: Pat Robinson, PURD, maj. dec. Theodore King, F&M, 14-1.
174: Chad Welch, PURD, pinned Colin Gironda, F&M, 1:14.
184: Kyle Mosier, PURD, pinned Paul III Alessandrini, F&M, 5:29.
197: Braden Atwood, PURD, maj. dec. Isaiah Cromwell, F&M, 15-1.
285: Alex White, PURD, dec. Alexander Henry, F&M, 4-0.
